Everything begins with pulping. The raw material is cotton, or more precisely, linters, the youngest part of the cotton flower. It is delivered in sheets. Each linter has specific characteristics depending on its origins; the fibers are more or less long and are particularly strong.

The linters are put in the pulper ( a machine like a big mixer) and plenty of water is added. The cotton dissolves and the fibers mesh together. Calcium carbonate - the alkaline reserve - is then added.

The mixture is then refined, to split the fibers into fibrils. They form a mesh more easily and make the paper stronger. Once ready, the pulp is transferred to a vat and beaten by two big blades. The mixture is then filtered to remove the heavy particles.

The Cylinder Moulding Machine

Great attention is paid to the quality of the water, as the paper's quality depends on how pure the water is. The cylinder mold is an amazing structure, although not particularly big in comparison with other papermaking machines. Wide belts drive immense wheels. Water flows everywhere, while the drying cylinders produce heat and humidity.The tool that creates paper is the mold, a hollow cylinder on which the sheets are formed. The cylinder has an impressive diameter, and is covered with a fine copper wire mesh. The wire that forms the watermark is attached to this mesh. Each type of paper has its own watermark. The infinity symbol stands for the paper's permanent qualities. The watermark also incorporates a sign that changes with each production run, so that the paper can be dated.

Great attention is paid to the quality of the water, as the paper's quality depends on how pure the water is. The cylinder mold is an amazing structure, although not particularly big in comparison with other papermaking machines. Wide belts drive immense wheels.. Water flows everywhere, while the drying cylinders produce heat and humidity. Felt loops stretched on rollers pass over the mold and detach the paper. The felt immediately absorbs a considerable part of the paper's water content. The pressure applied by the cylinders on the felt squeezes out the water and gives the paper its grain, transferred by the felt's texture.